Apparatus for indicating weight and rate of liquid delivered



May 3, 1955 J. o. LEWIS 2,707,394

APPARATUS FOR INDICATING WEIGHT AND RATE OF LIQUID DELIVERED Flled Nov 5 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGZ F lG. I.

INVENTQR v May 3, 1955 J. o. LEWIS 2,707,394

APPARATUS FOR INDICATING WEIGHT AND RATE OF LIQUID DELIVERED Filed Nov 5 194 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 2,707,394 Egg Patented May 3, 1955 United States Patent 2 phragm 24, the edges of which are soldered or otherwise bonded to a shoulder at the lower end of the chamber.

2,707,394 The diaphragm 24 has circular corrugations sur- EIGHT AND rounding a center sleeve 26 that is integrally secured to 8 the edges of a central opening through the diaphragm.

An operating lever 28 extends through the sleeve 26 and John i). Lewis, wo ds d asslglwl" by f and is of such a cross section, at the lower end of the sleeve, meslle assignments, to Flowflax Corporatmn New that is fully fills the sleeve and is bonded to the sleeve York, -s a col'loratmn of New York so as to form a portion of the seal between the chamber Application November 5, 1949, Serial No. 125,825 10 2g a e pa within the casting 12 below the p ragm. 5 C The operating lever 28 has a slot 30 extending through it. The lower end of this slot is within the sleeve 26 and at a substantial distance below the neutral plane of the This invention relates to apparatus for rne asll hg the 15 diaphragm. The expression neutral plane of the diafl f liquid in terms of the W g 0f llquld dehvered phragm being used herein to designate the plane or other per time unit. imaginary surface that passes through the points of in- Meters that measure the volume of liquid flow have a fl ti f the diaphragm wrrugations when the serious disadvan g when the liquid is b uscdfor phragm is in the position that it occupies when not deindustrial processes o other P p Iequlrmg Speclfied fiected by forces from either side. A tongue 32 extends weights of the liquid. A measured volume can alway be through the slot and supports a pivot pin 33 which translated into weight by computation when the temp serves as a fulcrum pivot bearing For the operating lever ture, pressure, and density are known, u u p 28. Th tongue 32 has sutficient clearance at both the tations require labor and result in d l y. upper and ends of the slot 33 so as not to interfere with it is an object of this invention to provide an improved the rocking of the operating lever 23 on its fulcrum apparatus that indicates the rate of liquid flow directly in pivot 33.

units of weight, such as pounds. The appa a is 9 The axisof the fulcrum pivot 33 is preferably located flied y the momentum of the liqllld fl0W1I1g P or in substantially the neutral plane of the diaphragm 24 through it, and in the preferred construction there 1s proso that rocking of the lever 28 on its fulcrum deflects vision made for compensating for the fact that momentum 30 the diaphragm symmetrically in opposite directions on varies as the second power of the velocity and therefore both sides of the pivot axis and thus does not change the supplies a force that does not vary uniformly with volume of the sealed chamber 2?; above the diaphragm.

changes in the weight of liquid flowing, the value that is A retaining plug fits int h Chamber 33 and has to be measured' a fialilgg 36 at its P1 61 611d resting on a shoulder in the Features of the invention relate to the construction 35 housing 11 and Supp i the retaining plug at a prede of the meter with the working parts sealed from the liquid termined level. This retaining plug has a slot 37 exstream and vane element by a flexible diaphragm of tending throughout most of its length, and the tongue 32 special construction that permits location of a fulcrum is connected with the lower portion of the retainer plug pivot in the neutral plane of the diaphragm. The cham- 35 by a section 39 of the plug, best shown in Fig. 3.

her containing the working parts is filled with liquid that 40 Although the chamber 32 (Figs. 1 and 2) is pref. protects the parts and that permits a thinner and more er ably cylindrical, the slot 37 in the retaining plug 35 i sensitive sealing diaphragm to be used by reducing the OI rectangular cross section and is only slightly wide pressure difierential across the diaphragm. than the transverse width of the operating lever 28. A

Another object of the invention is to prov1de a flow the operating lever 23 swings back and forth in the chammeter in which the velocity of the stream to be measured 3 her 22, therefore, the fluid in the chamber at one side of is increased and then reversed in order to obtain a subthe operating lever 23, has to move thr compara stantial operating force for the meter even though the TIVBIY small clearances in order to pass to other Side flow is small. In this way the accuracy of the measuref the Operating lever, and this action (lamps the oscillaments at low rates of flow is increased. 0115 of the P ail-11g l er 28.

Other objects, features and advantages of the inven- 7;!) he preferred construction, the chamber 22 is fill d tion will appear or be pointed out as the description pro- Wlth llquld Whlch 13 1111321113 j c ed into the chamber ceedsl p a This P ge 40 is sealed after the In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like {1 P P3611 Injected into the chamber, B f the reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all hquld 1S mlected into the Chamber, the air is exhausted the views, from the chamber through the passage 4t Figure 1 is a sectional view through a flow meter made P f the advantages of filling the chamber 22 with in accordance with this invention, liquid is that the movement of the operating. lever is more Figures 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the efiectlvely damped than h air r other gas in the lines 2--2, 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, of Figure 1, h advantage is that the liquid above th Figure 5 is a sectional view showing a modified form (to dlaPhragm ug p s l sav s the diaphragm ofthe invention, from excessive loa dlng when a substantial pressure of Figure 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the potenti- Water or other 11q111d is exerted g nst the bottom or" th ometer used in the apparatus shown in Figure 1. i iq s flurmg operatisn 0f the pp s- The Figure 1 shows a housing 11 connected at its lower end liquid used in the chamber 22 must be non-corrosive and with a casting 12. There is a liquid inlet passage 14 at 15 h l be adversely affected by p r r changes one end of the casting and a liquid outlet discharge pas- Wlthln the Faf1g for ch the apparatus is i d to sage 15 at the bottom of the casting The other end he used. Suitable liquids are transformer oil and liquid of the casting is closed by a plug 17 which is attached slllconesr to h casting b a i f screws 19. Thi l 17 i The operating lever 28 connects with motion transsealed against leakage by an O-ring 20. 7O mitting means comprising a gear segment 42 connected to The housing 11 encloses a chamber 22 which is sealed the top of the operating lever 28 and a pinion gear 43 that at its lower end by a resilient and flexible metal diameshes with the gear segment 42. This pinion gear is se-.

cured to'a shaft which extends upward through a bushing threaded into an opening at the top of the retaining plug 35. The pinion shaft extends into a potentiometer 47. located in the upper end of the housing 11.

The interior of the housing 11, above the retaining plug 35 communicates with the chamber 22 through conduits that open through the top of the retaining plug. A cap 51 screws into the top of the housing 11 to seal the upper end of the housing and is preferably held by solder 52 There are wires 53 extending from the potentiometer 47 through a seal 55 in the wall of the housing for connecting an indicator 58 outside of the housing with the potentiometer 47. This indicator 58 is shown attached to the upper part of the housing 11, but it will be understood that the indicator may be at some remote location if desired. The indicator has a hand 59 movable across a scale graduated to read directly in terms of pounds of liquid per minute, or other weight designations for each unit of time.

The housing 11 is connected with the casting 12 by cut recesses in somewhat the same manner as the securing of a bayonet type lock.

A set screw 62 prevents the housing 11 from turning on the casting 12, and thereby prevents the housing from moving into a position that would allow it to be lifted from the casting. An O-ring 64 seals the apparatus from leakage between the outside of the housing 11 and the confronting inside faces of the casting 12.

"In the space below the diaphragm 24, there is a vane element 67 located in the path of the liquid stream of which the flow is to be measured. In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the vane element 67 is a bucket having a front surface shaped to reverse the direction of a liquid stream that is projected against it.

A nozzle 69 extends through the inlet passage 14 and has converging side walls that reduce the cross-section of the liquid stream and cause an increase in the velocity of the liquid as it approaches thedischarge end of the nozzle. The higher velocity supplies a considerably greater force for operating the apparatus because the force of the liquid is proportional to the square of the velocity. The discharge end of the nozzle is in front of a generally conical center region 70 of the vane element 67. The vane element extends beyond the nozzle on all sides and has a substantially annular discharge outlet 72 from which the reversed stream of liquid discharges into the annular-space around the nozzle 69. This annular space leads to the liquid outlet 15.

The advantage of the shape of the vane element 67, with its symmetry around the axis of the nozzle 69, is a balancing of the force of the liquid in all radial directions with respect to the vane element 67. Vane elements of invention disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 is that the direction of the liquid stream is reversed, and the force available for measuring is thereby increased.

The vane element 67 has a rearward extension 75 with bores 77 into which studs 78 extend. These studs 78 are along which the vane element 67 is movable in a sub stantially straight line.

The lower end of the operating lever 78 extends into the slot 80 and has a button 82 on its front face in contact with the forward end of the slot 80. When the apparatus is in operation, the force of the liquid stream against the front face of the vane element 67 maintains the vane element in contact with the button 82, and any displacement of the vane elements by an increase in the force of the liquid stream moves the lower end of the operating lever and rocks the lever on its pivot pin 33.

LII

" This rocking movement causes the gear segment 42 to rotate the pinion gear 43 and transmit the motion of thevane element to the potentiometer 47.

In order to obtain uniform results from different units in spite of manufacturing tolerances, and particularly differences in the resilience and flexibility of the diaphragm 24, the vane element 67 is equipped with a spring 83 compressed between a socket of the rearward extension 75 and an adjusting screw 84 threaded into the center of the plug 17. A lock screw 84' threads into the plug 1'7 behind the adjusting screw 84. The spring 83 provides a preloading of the vane element 67, which loading is opposite to the force of the liquid projected'against the vane element from the nozzle 69. In cases Where 4 the diaphragm 24 is stiffer than average and is difficult to deflect, the force of the spring 75 can be reduced by backing off the screw 84 to compensate for the abnormal stiffness of the diaphragm 24. Conversely, in cases p where the stifiness of the diaphragm 24 is below average, and the diaphragm deflects with only light force, the presi sure of the spring 83 is increased by turning down the adjusting screw 84 until the spring pressure compensates for the subnormal stiffness of the diaphragm 24.

The force exerted by the liquid against the vane ele ment 67 does not vary uniformly in proportion to the increase in the rate of flow. The vane element 67 is operated by the momentum of the liquid, and the momentum varies as the square of the velocity of the stream. An increase that doubles the rate of flow, there fore, increases the force against the vane element 67 approximately 4 times.

When it is desirable to have the indicator hand move along a scale having uniform graduations, the non-lineal variation of the liquid force against the vane element can be compensated for in various ways. One way is illustrated in Fig. 6 which shows a development of the potentiometer with successive coils 85 of wire of different diameter so thatthe variation in the effect produced by the potentiometer compensates for the non-uniform variation of the liquid pressure and thus moves the indicator hand uniformly for equal variations in the rate of flow.

Fig. 5 shows a modified form of the invention in which a housing 88 is mounted on top of a pipe 89 through which liquid passes. A vane element 90, of streamlined shape, is located in the stream of liquid and attached to the lower end of an operating lever 92 which is similar in I to the sleeve. 26 of the diaphragm 24. Above the diaother shapes can be used, but one of the features of the phragm, the operating lever '92 extends upward through the sealed chamber in the housing 88, to a gear segment 42 that is attached to the top of the operating lever. This gear segment meshes with a pinion gear/13 on a shaft leading to a potentiometer, as already described.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 5 employs a mechanical construction that compensates for the non-uniform variation of the liquid pressure with change of flow. A leaf spring 94 extends into a slot in a fixed part of the housing and is anchored in the slot by a set screw 96.

A second spring 97 is anchored at its lower end in the same slot. as the spring 94, but the upper end of the second spring 97 is held back away from the operating lever 92 by a stud 99 extending from a fixed wall in the housing 88.

The immediate portion of the spring 97, between its ends, passes across a row of calibrating screws 101 which thread into a fixed retainer in the housing 88. These screws are adjusted to abut against the spring 97 and give it an arched surface that serves as a continuous abutment for the leaf spring 94, and the shape of the arch of this second spring 97 is so adjusted that it leaves progressively shorter lengths of the spring 94 free as the operating lever 92 is moved by increasing force from the liquid stream. This variation in the free or eifective length of the leaf spring 97 varies in such a Way as to compensate mechanically for the non-uniform variation in the force of the liquid against the vane element 90.

This construction in which the leaf spring 97 spans the space between the calibrating screws 101 makes the apparatus obtain more accurate results because the calibrating screws can be adjusted to give the spring 97 the theoretically correct shape for obtaining the desired variation in the length of the spring 94. In earlier constructions in which a moving spring has been used in combination with calibrating screws with which it contacts directly, the results obtained are accurate only at the various points at which the spring comes into contact with each calibrating screw. As the spring continues to move, the re sults obtained with such apparatus become increasingly less accurate until the spring contacts with the next calibrating screw.

The preferred embodiment and one modification of the invention have been shown and described, but changes and other modifications can be made, and some features can be used alone or in ditferent combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A flow meter comprising a vane located in the path of the liquid of which the flow is to be measured, an indicator, operating connections between the vane and indicator, means for compensating for the non-linear variation of force against the vane with change of flow, said means for compensating comprising a first leaf spring which bears against a portion of the operating connections at one region and which is anchored to a stationary support at the other end, a second leaf spring behind the first leaf spring and anchored to the stationary support at the same end as the first leaf spring and in contact with the first leaf spring along at least a portion of the length of the springs toward their anchored ends, an abutment that holds the second leaf spring bowed toward its side that contacts with the first spring and behind the first spring and in position to be contacted progressively along its length by the first spring as said first spring is bent by i increasing force of the liquid stream against the vane, and a row of calibrating screws behind the second spring adjustable to control the shape of the bow of the surface of the second spring with which the first spring comes in contact.

2. A flow meter for measuring the flow of a fluid, including in combination, a housing forming a chamber ,for the fluid which is to have its flow measured, an element located in the chamber and in a stream of the fluid, resilient means resisting movement of said element by the fluid stream, mechanism for operating an indicator, motion-transmitting connections between said mechanism and the element in the fluid, said housing having another chamber in which part of the motion transmitting connections are enclosed, a flexible diaphragm having a central opening therein, the diaphragm sealing the chambers from one another and being located in position that exposes the diaphragm to pressure in the chambers substantially equally on all sides of said opening, a lever comprising a part of the motion-transmitting connections, sleeve means attached to the diaphragm adjacent to the edge of the central opening, said lever extending through the central opening and lengthwise through the sleeve means and being connected to the sleeve means, a support for the lever carried directly by the housing and clear of the diaphragm and having a portion extending through the central opening in the diaphragm and into one end of the sleeve means, and a fulcrum bearing for the lever carried by said support and located with the axis of the fulcrum bearing substantially at the neutral axis of the diaphragm, said lever having a cross section in the sleeve beyond the fulcrum suflicient to fully close the sleeve means against flow of fluid between the chambers.

3. The flow meter described in claim 2, characterized by a metal diaphragm having circular corrugations extending around the region at which the operating lever passes through the diaphragm and substantially concentric with the central opening.

4. A flow meter comprising a housing forming a lower chamber which connects with a passage through which a flow of fluid is to be measured, an element that extends into the stream of fluid in said passage, resilient means resisting movement of said element by the stream of fluid, mechanism for operating an indicator, motiontransmitting connections between said mechanism and the element in the fluid stream, said housing: having another chamber located immediately above the first chamber and in which part of the motion-transmitting connections are enclosed, a flexible diaphragm across the top of the first chamber and forming a partition for separating the chambers from one another, the diaphragm having a central opening therethrough, a lever comprising a part of the motion-transmitting connections, sleeve means attached to the diaphragm adjacent to the edge of the central opening, the lever extending upwardly from the first chamber and through the central opening in the diaphragm and lengthwise through the sleeve means and upwardly into the chamber above the diaphragm, said lever being connected to the sleeve means and having a cross section, near one end of the sleeve, sufiicient to fill the sleeve and prevent passage of fluid through said sleeve means, a support for the lever carried directly from the housing clear of the diaphragm and having a portion extending through the central opening in the diaphragm and into the end of the sleeve means remote from. the end which is closed by the full cross section of the lever, and a fulcrum bearing for the lever carried by said support and located with the axis of the fulcrum bearing substantially at the neutral axis of the diaphragm.

5. A flow meter described in claim 2, characterized by an element in the first chamber comprising a streamlined vane connected to the lower end of the lever and movable with the lever about the fulcrum axis of the lever as the vane is moved downstream by the force of the fluid flow or upstream by the resilient means which resists movement of the vane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,111,684 Vaughan Sept. 22, 1914 1,401,299 Wohlenberg Dec. 27, 1921 1,495,010 Ford May 20, 1924 1,637,927 Bonn Aug. 2, 1927 1,818,973 De Giers Aug. 18, 1931 1,920,971 De Giers Aug. 8, 1933 1,927,973 Bull Sept. 26, 1933 2,024,571 Gent Dec. 17, 1935 2,065,834 Swennes Dec. 29, 1936 2,160,266 Grisdale May 30, 1939 2,252,029 Pieper Aug. 19, 1941 2,424,511 Stanley et a1 July 22, 1947 2,522,796 Olson et a1. Sept. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 195,794 Germany Feb. 25, 1908 215,355 Germany Oct. 26, 1909 300,545 Germany Sept. 15, 1917 330,230 Germany Dec. 9, 1920 369,588 Great Britain Mar. 21, 1932 

1. A FLOW METER COMPRISING A VANE LOCATED IN THE PATH OF THE LIQUID OF WHICH THE FLOW IS TO BE MEASURED, AN INDICATOR, OPERATING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE VANE AND INDICATOR, MEANS FOR COMPENSATING FOR THE NON-LINEAR VARIATION OF FORCE AGAINST THE CANE WITH CHANGE OF FLOW, SAID MEANS FOR COMPENSATING COMPRISING A FIRST LEAF SPRING WHICH BEARS AGAINST A PORTION OF THE OPERATING CONNECTIONS AT ONE REGION AND WHICH IS ANCHORED TO A STATIONARY SUPPORT AT THE OTHER END, A SECOND LEAF SPRING BEHIND THE FIRST LEAF SPRING AND ANCHORED TO THE STATIONARY SUPPORT AT THE SAME END AS THE FIRST LEAF SPRING AND IN CONTACT WITH THE FIRST LEAF SPRING ALONG AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE SPRINGS TOWARD THEIR ANCHORED ENDS, AN ABUTMENT THAT HOLDS THE SECOND LEAF SPRING BOWED TOWARD ITS SIDE THAT CONTACTS WITH THE FIRST SPRING BOWED TOWARD ITS SPRING AND IN POSITION TO BE CONTACTED PROGRESSIVELY ALONG ITS LENGTH BY THE FIRST SPRING AS SAID FIRST SPRING IS BENT BY INCREASING FORCE OF THE LIQUID STREAM AGAINST THE VANE, AND A ROW OF CALIBRATING SCREWS BEHIND THE SECOND SPRING ADJUSTABLE TO CONTROL THE SHAPE OF THE BOW OF THE SURFACE OF THE SECOND SPRING WITH WHICH THE FIRST SPRING COMES IN CONTACT. 